TO THE AMBASSADOR. Monday, 29th.– Heavy rain all day, accompanied by cold, and a strong gale. In the evening it cleared up, and I went on shore for a short time. On either side of the channel were a great number of vessels, waiting for the southerly wind to carry them up to Constantinople; and now, with their sails out to dry, they presented the singular appearance of a fleet in full sail – without advancing. A small cutter, which serves as a packet between Smyrna and Stamboul, worked by us before dark; she was crowded with passengers, among whom were several ladies. The news she brought was of no great importance, saving the certainty that the French fleet, consisting of four sail of the line and two frigates, had arrived at Vourla. A present of two sheep, with some poultry and vegetables, arrived from the Pasha at the Upper Castles, for the ambassador; which looked as if the knowing ones on shore, expected we should keep our present berth for some time.
FEAST OF THE BAIRAM. Tuesday, April 30th.– At daylight this morning, we were all attracted on deck by the loud report of cannon, which came booming down the Hellespont, announcing the commencement of the Bairam, or grand religious festival of the Turks, when they play the same "antics before high Heaven," which Catholics do at their carnival. The guns were shotted, and we could distinctly see the splash of the marble balls as they dropped into the water. To-day the Sultan visits one of the principal mosques in state; and, though latterly the pageant has lost much of the oriental splendour that once distinguished it, yet, from the number of fine horses, and the richness of their caparisons, which are covered with gold, diamonds, and precious stones; and the splendid dresses of the officers of state and their attendants, this procession has still an air of great magnificence. In the evening, strings of variegated lamps, with festoons of flowers, swing from minaret to minaret, and hang over the illuminated city like a faëry crown. From the prevalence of an unlucky northern wind this morning, we were prevented from reaching Constantinople in time to witness these festivities. SESTOS. – TURKISH COLONEL.The breeze, however, suddenly veering round to the south, swiftly went round the capstan, and merrily did our band, the solitary fiddler, rosin away to the tune of "drops of brandy," while, with every stretch of canvass set, we joyfully proceeded in our course, saluting the Pasha, according to custom, as we came abreast of the village of the Dardanelles, which occupies a low situation, and its mean-looking houses are huddled together in a very unpicturesque manner. The celebrated castles look formidable enough, with their enormous guns lying upon the ground without carriages, and sweeping the surface of the waves from shore to shore. The entire population was assembled upon the wharfs, or on the tops of the houses, and the flags of the consuls were displayed; so that, altogether, we saw the town to the best advantage. They returned our salute, and, immediately after, a mech-men-dar, or colonel, appointed by the Sultan to accompany the ambassador to Constantinople, came on board with his pipe-bearer. He wore a splendid dress, and was a remarkably well made man, of a dark copper colour, probably a Nubian by birth. The village on the European side of the Dardanelles is not so large as that on the shore opposite; but, being built on a declivity, and having gardens and cypress trees intermingled with the houses, it is far more beautiful. Sestos, the European fort, is also very strong seaward, but is commanded by a hill that rises behind it. Were the guns well served, the vessel that should attempt to force a passage between these two castles could only escape being sunk by a miracle.
BEAUTIFUL SCENE. As we glided onwards to our destination, the scene became exceedingly animated: the sea was covered with innumerable vessels having all their canvass spread; some were following in our wake towards Constantinople even with skysails, but the superior sailing of the Actæon gradually left them far astern. As we passed Gallipoli, two Russian men-of-war were lying off the town, which is of considerable size; and in the Bay of Lampsacus, on the opposite coast, were also several Turkish ships. The landscape on the European side of the Sea of Marmora, in which we now were, is composed of gently sloping hills, well cultivated, while on that of Asia, it is bolder and more rugged.
There was now every probability of our arriving at Constantinople to-morrow, and we enjoyed the satisfaction of sailing past the Smyrna packet, which, having hauled too close in shore, lost the wind and lay there quite becalmed.
THE SEVEN TOWERS. Wednesday, May 1st.– Off Cape St. Stefano at day break. Three Turkish frigates lying at anchor there, fired the usual salute in honour of the festival of the Bairam, which is repeated at sunrise and sunset from all the men-of-war and batteries during the three days of its continuance. The guns of the fort were shotted, like those of the Dardanelles. As the darkness gave place to light, Stamboul disclosed itself to our anxious gaze, and we arrived opposite the Seven Towers, just as the sun cast its morning tints over the gilded cupolas and tall graceful minarets of this "Queen of Cities."
Long, long ago, my anxious hope was to behold, some day or other, the spot I was now approaching; at that time with little chance of its ever being accomplished, but now fulfilled to my perfect satisfaction. The Seven Towers, and the city walls, which are in many places thickly covered with ivy, appear to be in a very ruinous condition. These latter are trebled on the land-side, having a ditch between each. From the numerous fragments of marble and granite columns, many of them bearing inscriptions, every where intermingled with the masonry, it is evident that the fortifications of Constantinople were built of the remnants of the ancient capital. This is peculiarly visible in the neighbourhood of the seraglio, where Irene's palace is supposed to have formerly stood. Facing the water is that portion of the suburbs inhabited by the Armenians, but presenting no attractions to the stranger, being exceedingly crowded and dirty; and along the shore are the stations for washing, slaughtering cattle, and throwing into the sea the filth collected by the scavengers.
THE PASHA'S GATE. If these objects were calculated to excite feelings of disgust, the scene which next presented itself was beautiful as fairy land. The ship sailed close under the lofty wall of the seraglio garden, which is separated from the sea by only a narrow wharf. Shady groves, bowers of oranges, roses and jasmine, lofty cypresses, and wide spreading plane trees, embosom the elegant pagoda-shaped buildings, which comprise the kiosks of the Sultan, and the women's apartments; all of which, together with the stables and other inferior offices, are richly gilt and painted of various gaudy colours. Near one of the seraglio gates is erected a large wooden house, where many a disobedient Pasha has awaited the decree of banishment issued against him by his imperious master. There, too, he was shipped on board the vessel destined to carry him into exile; or, if condemned to expiate his offences with his life, it was there the bowstring was applied. Hence this entrance is known by the appellation of the Pasha's gate. A little further on, we observed a small low door in the wall, scarcely high enough to admit an ordinary sized man. Through this opening the slaves newly purchased, for either the Sultan or Sultana, are conveyed into the palace; through it also, they make their exit, when barbarous jealousy or revenge prompts their destruction; and many a lovely Dudú or Lolah, and many a fair Sultana sewn in the cruel sack, have been borne through this fatal opening, and cast into the
"Rolling waves, which hide
Already many a once love-beaten breast,
Deep in the caverns of the deadly tide."
BEAUTIES OF STAMBOUL. We now sailed round the promontory of the Golden Horn, when all the beauties of Stamboul, Pera, the Bosphorus, and Scutari, burst suddenly upon the view. Looking towards the seraglio point is seen the richly gilded palace of the Sultan, with a gate that glitters as if formed of polished gold; and backed by a profusion of foliage, and the buildings of the Serai. Farther distant is St. Sophia and the other mosques, whose golden domes and graceful, tapering minarets, tower above the mass of painted buildings interspersed with dark cypresses and beautiful plane trees, which covers the surface of the "seven hills." Thousands of roses hang clustering on the trellis work which adorns the gardens of the numerous villages, summer palaces, and villas occupying the shores of the Bosphorus, and the harbour between Constantinople and Galata appears crowded with ships, and with numberless caiques, gliding rapidly from shore to shore. PERA. – SCUTARI.Lastly, Pera, with its vast range of cypresses, crowns the hill, and extends along the whole length of the town. Looking in another direction, appears the burying ground of Scutari, also with its cypress grove, many miles in extent; the mosque, and barracks of Sultan Selim; Leander's tower in the channel which we
